Basic Information

April 15 - 17 - Friday through Sunday - International DX Convention in Visalia, CA - The 67th convening of the DX convention will be held at the Visalia Conference Center in downtown Visalia. The venue has hotels immediately adjacent to the conference center as well as other reasonably priced hotels nearby. For more information, please check the website at www.dxconvention.org

April 30 - Saturday - 8:00 AM to Noon (you might want to get to the swap a little early to catch the good stuff) The Valley of the Moon ARC will hold its annual hamfest and swap in Sonoma. The location is the Sonoma Veterans Memorial Building, 126 First Street West, Sonoma. Admission is free. This is the only swap I know of in the area and you can generally find some goodies. Check in your garage or closet for something that is collecting dust and take it to the swap. You might just find a treasure or two that can accompany you home to your shack. In addition, they have a T-Hunt, VE session and a breakfast ($8 each) that you won’t want to miss. For more details, please visit their website at www.vomarc.org/events

April 29 to May 1 - Nevada State Convention this year will be held in Las Vegas at the Eastside Cannery Casino-Hotel. This is the first time it is being held in Las Vegas. The Virginia City and Reno events were great! With more to do and see in the greater Las Vegas area, this may prove to be a great alternate venue. Too bad the direct flights from Santa Rosa won’t start until later in May. For more information visit their website at www.nvcon.org

June 3 to June 5 - Friday to Sunday - SeaPac in Seaside, OR. SeaPac is the ARRL Northwestern Division convention. Featuring two floors of indoor swap tables, a large variety of commercial vendors and the atmosphere of the town of Seaside, this is one terrific convention. They have a number of seminars on interesting subjects and several dinners over the days. This is a good conference to bring the non-Hams in your family as Seaside offers many things to see and do. It is a quick flight to Portland, and then a scenic drive to coastal town of Seaside, or, a really nice drive from our part of the state. For more information, go to www.seapac.org

June 25 & 26 - Saturday & Sunday - Field Day! Please be sure that your club has registered their Field Day location on the ARRL Field Day locator so visitors can find your operation. It is a great way to get new Hams and new members for your club, as well as reacquaint the public with Amateur Radio, the hobby of a lifetime. There have been a couple of changes to the Field Day rules so be sure to get the latest rules update. For more information, check the ARRL website.

October 14 to 16 - Friday to Sunday - Pacificon 2013 in San Ramon at the San Ramon Marriott. Pacificon is the ARRL Pacific Division annual conference. The Mt. Diablo Amateur Radio Club organizes the convention with their skilled team to the enjoyment of all visitors. Make your reservations early. For more information and reservations, visit their website at www.pacificon.org

Club Presidents - Reminder - If your club is affiliated with ARRL, please be sure that your club’s information is updated on the ARRL website. That way prospective members can find you!

If you or your club have something you’d like to have mentioned here, drop me a email with the info. Thanks!